DREAM.9 took place on May 26, 2009, at Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan, promoted by Fighting and Entertainment Group’s DREAM. The main event features the Featherweight Grand Prix semifinals, with Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Yoshiro Maeda and Hideo Tokoro vs. Abel Cullum, following their first-round wins at DREAM.7. Other key bouts include Ronaldo Souza vs. Jason Miller for the vacant DREAM Middleweight Championship, where Souza comes off a submission win over Matt Lindland and Miller advances after defeating Yushin Okami. The card also features the Super Hulk Tournament opening round with Hong Man Choi vs. Jose Canseco and Gegard Mousasi vs. Mark Hunt.